DIEKEMPER GALLERY OF
PRE-COLUMBIAN ART
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Welcome to the Diekemper Gallery of Pre-Columbian Art!
Art created in Central and South America before the 15th century is referred to
as Pre-Columbian art, which is artwork created before the voyage of Christopher
Columbus in 1492. Pre-Columbian cultures believed in many different deities
(gods) who controlled all aspects of life and nature. In this gallery, there are
a variety of objects made by the historical people of Colombia and Panama.
Ranging from sparkling beads and shiny gold, to earthy pots and figures, the
items in this gallery had great meaning in Pre-Columbian culture. Some items
had a practical use, like for drinking, and some were important reminders of
symbols, such as opposing forces like good vs. evil.
Rededicated in 2005, many of the interesting artifacts in the Diekemper gallery of
Pre-Columbian Art were donated by Ray J. Diekemper Jr. and Lou Dunn Diekemper.
Ray attended Stanford and Harvard before moving to Lubbock, TX. He became
an independent oil operator, and he and his wife became active members of the
Lubbock community participating in organizations such as the Lubbock Chamber
of Commerce, the Lubbock Economic Council, YWCA, Women’s Protective Services,
Junior League of Lubbock, the Science Spectrum board, and both were founding
members of the South Plains Food Bank. Ray passed away in 1999. Lou Dunn
Diekemper is still a generous benefactor of both Lubbock and Texas Tech University.
POTTERY
Groups living in Pre-Columbian times made pottery for many reasons.
They made vessels of all sizes and shapes using a coil method: building
the walls from a long string of clay before smoothing them out and
adding pictures or shapes.
All the pottery that you see here was made by hand. Pre-Columbian
cultures did not have the modern techniques
that we have today. They decorated their
pottery by incising (carving) designs onto
the clay and painting them with minerals
they found in their area.
Clay owl effigy
Alcarraza (Earthenware container)
Calima
Colombia
300 AD- 1300 AD
Tairona
Coclé
Veraguas
VENEZUELA
PANAMA
Tolima
Muisca
Quimbaya
PACIFIC OCEAN
COLUMBIA
ECUADOR
Calima
Clay armadillo effigy
Alcarraza (Earthenware container)
Calima
Colombia
300 AD- 1300 AD
PRE-COLUMBIAN JEWELRY
Some of the Pre-Columbian groups in Colombia and Peru made jewelry
from all kinds of stones and metals, such as carnelian (brownish-red),
crystal (clear), jasper (red, yellow, brown, or green), and gold (yellow).
The Tairona (tay-ou-nah) of Colombia was a group that lived in the regions
now known as Cesar, Magdalena, and La Guajira( La gua-ji-ra). The Tairona
civilization is well-known for its gold-work. In their society, gold was worn
and utilized by all people, not just the elite. Their gold artifacts consist of
pendants, nose ornaments, earrings, and necklaces.
Jadite and carnelian beaded necklace
Tairona
Colombia
400 AD – 1500 AD
Tumbaga earrings
Sinú’
Colombia
100 AD- 1600 AD
Shell necklace
Momche
Peru
400 AD – 1500 AD
USE THE SPACE BELOW TO CREATE YOUR
OWN JEWELRY USING THE COLORS THAT
THESE CIVILIZATIONS USED!
ZOOMORPHIC
DESIGNS
Sometimes Pre-Columbian cultures made
pottery shaped like animals; this is called a
zoomorphic (zoh-uh-mauor-fik) object. The
animal shapes were symbols for different
ideas in the groups’ lives. For example, a
snake meant life, while jaguars (a type of big
cat) were symbols of power and thunder.
Clay armadillo effigy
Alcarraza (Earthenware container)
Calima
Colombia
300 AD- 1300 AD
BE ALERT!
There are animals in this gallery. See if you can find them all and check
them off on this list.
__ Armadillo
__ Jaguar
__ Bird
__ Sea Creature
__ Crab
__ Serpent
__ Eagle
__ Shark
__ Fish
__ Snake
__ Frog
__ Owl
RATTLE
FIGURES
A group called the Quimbaya (kim-bye-uh)
made rattle figures shaped like humans.
The rattle figures are hollow and contain
a small pebble or clay ball inside.
Clay “rattle figure”
Quimbaya
Colombia
1000 AD – 1400 AD
VERAGUAS
The Veraguas (ver-aug-wa-s), a group from
Panama, created plates with “feet” that had
animal designs painted onto the surface.
USE THE SPACE BELOW TO DESIGN YOUR
OWN VERSION OF A VERAGUAS PLATE!
HOW TO READ A LABEL IN THE GALLERY
First line: Object
Second line: Culture
Third line: Country
Fourth line: Date
MATCH GAME
SEE IF YOU CAN MATCH THE WORD WITH
ITS DEFINITION!
DRAW A LINE FROM THE WORD ON THE LEFT TO ITS DEFINITION ON THE RIGHT!
a. Alloy (al-oi)­—
b. Clay (kley)­—
c. Pre-Columbian (kuh-luhn-bee-uhn)­—
d. Pottery (pot-uh-ree)­—
e. Symbol (sim-buhl)­—
f. Vessel (ves-uhl)­—
g. Tumbaga (tum-ba-ga)­—
h. Iconography (ahy-kuh-nog-ruh-fee)­—
i. Interlaying Region (in-ter-ley-ing ree-juhn)­—
j. Cayman (key-muh-n)­—
k. Zoomorphic (zoh-uh-mawr-fik)­—
l. Anthropomorphic (an-thruh-puh-maur-fik)­—
m. Coil method (koil meth-uhd)­—
n. Annealing (uh-neel-ing)­—
o. Alcarraza (al-car-raza)­—
1. A container for holding liquid.
2. Strengthening (or hardening) and applying colors on
pottery by heating and then cooling the object slowly.
3. The present-day lands of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia,
and Ecuador.
4. Things made out of clay that are baked until hard.
5. An object, letter, or animal that represents an idea or
natural phenomena.
6. A metal made
by mixing two or more metals used for various
things like coins, jewelry, etc.
7. An earthy material that is flexible when wet (but hard when
baked) that is used for brick, tile, and pottery.
8. A recurring thematic element of an artistic work.
9. The time before Christopher Columbus came to America
in 1492.
10. The winding of clay in a continuous series of loops, like
a “coil of rope,” which is then paddled into the shape of
a vessel.
11. A basic jar form with double spouts connected by a handle.
12. A human-shaped form.
13. A Central and South American reptile similar to a crocodile
or alligator.
14. A gold and copper alloy.
15. An animal-shaped form.
b.— 7.
c.— 9.
d.— 4.
e. — 5.
a.— 6.
f. — 1.
g.— 14.
h. — 8.
i. — 3.
j.— 13.
Answer Key
k.— 15.
l.— 12.
m.— 10.
n.— 2.
o.— 11.
HOW DO I SAY THAT?
CULTURES FROM COLOMBIA:
Calima (cah-lee-ma)
Muisca (moy-sca)
Quimbaya (kim-bye-uh)
Tairona (tay-oo-nah)
Tolima (toe-lee-ma)
CULTURES FROM PANAMA:
Coclé (ko-klay)
Veraguas (ver-aug-wa-s)
FUN FACTS
Once thought to be toys, clay
whistles and other clay instruments
were actually used to play music
for entertainment and for special
events. How many whistles can you
find in this gallery?
WORD SEARCH
D C A Y M A N Q
Z K C M D Z A L
P C A L C A R R
B U C O I L M E
W A J Z P O T T
P R E - C O L U
B I C O N O G R
W I V K Y T Q X
L L S H I W U D
Y A C F H X V M
W D K Q E A E U
Z O E G I L S B
H J I M C L S S
I G G V L W E J
Z H G A E X L M
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ANSWER:2
CAN YOU FIND THE HIDDEN WORDS?
Circle the words. The words can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
Clay amphora water container with face
Quillacinga (quil-la-cin-ga)
Colombia
750 AD-1250 AD
ALLOY­
SYMBOL
CAYMAN
CLAY
VESSEL
COIL METHOD
PRE-COLUMBIAN
TUMBAGA
ALCARRAZA
POTTERY
ICONOGRAPHY
For definitions, check out the previous page.
CHECK IT OUT!
Follow the links below to learn more about Pre-Columbian Art
ART IS........PRE-COLUMBIAN ART
HTTP://Y2U.BE/QI8NQMQIOQM
WWW.VISUAL-ARTS-CORK.COM/HISTORY-OF-ART/PRE-COLUMBIAN.HTML
WWW.DEPTS.TTU.EDU/MUSEUMTTU
ON THE COVER
1. Clay amphora water
container with face
Quillacinga
Colombia
750 AD-1250 AD
2. Clay owl effigy
Alcarraza
(Earthenware container)
Calima
Colombia
300 AD- 1300 AD
3. Tumbaga earrings
Sinú’
Colombia
100 AD- 1600 AD
3301 4th Street
Lubbock, TX 79409-3191
806.742.2432
Email: Museum.education@ttu.edu
www.museum.ttu.edu